WALNUT – It was supposed to be a battle for a mythical national championship.

Instead it proved to be a coronation for the Mt. San Antonio College football team.

Nick Lamaison threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns and the Mounties limited City College of San Francisco to just four first downs in the first half en route to a 34-7 victory to claim their second consecutive California Community College Athletic Association title.

Mt. SAC, which finished 13-0, also is expected to receive a national title from JCGridiron.com, which had the Mounties ranked No. 1 the past two weeks. The Rams, who were No. 2 coming into the game, finished 11-1.

“I’m so proud of these kids and what they accomplished,” said Mt. SAC coach Bob Jastrab, whose Mounties went 26-1 over the past two seasons, during which they won two CCCAA titles and two national titles. “They came out and played today. I can’t say enough about the defense, to shut a great team like that down and give up only seven points.

“The offense, scoring 34 points, we clicked on all cylinders, especially the past few weeks. These guys deserve everything they get by winning this national championship.”

The Mounties, who throttled Cerritos, 51-0, to win the Southern California regional title two weeks ago, scored on five of their first seven possessions to take a 27-0 lead at halftime.

Lamaison (South Hills High School) connected on seven of his first 11 passes, including a 16-yarder to Michael Harrell (Charter Oak) to set up the first score, a 20-yard run by Marcus Wagner (Bishop Amat) that made it 7-0 at 12:53 of the first quarter.

Bryce McBride (Los Altos) rushed for 78 yards and scored two touchdowns. He pushed the advantage to 27-0 by halftime following a 1-yard run at 2:08 of the second quarter and an 8-yard pass from Lamaison with 45 seconds left in the half.

Jeremy Brown (Los Altos) also had field goals of 39 and 42 yards in the first half.

“We were hungry,” said Lamaison, who earned his third game MVP of the playoffs. “Our guys wanted this second consecutive national title and we got it.

“We worked hard all year, every single day, and it pays off in the end.”

The rest was taken care of by a defense that held San Francisco to 110 yards and four first downs in the first half.

The Rams drove to the Mounties’ 46 on their opening possession but had just one first down the rest of the half.

“It always comes from good coaching,” said defensive lineman Bojay Filimoeatu, who was defensive player of the game. “They tell us all the time that hard work pays off, and it did today.”

San Francisco, coming off a 52-15 victory over Fresno City in the Northern California championship game two weeks ago, had one chance to get back in it.

The Rams, following Nigel Malone’s interception of a Lamaison pass in the end zone, drove 80 yards and made it 27-7 on a 5-yard pass from Steele Jantz to Josh Fale with 6:04 left in the third quarter. Jantz finished with 224 yards passing.

San Francisco then got the ball at Mt. SAC’s 44 when the Mounties’ Breydan Torres-Keohokapu fumbled the kickoff. But Jantz, after the Rams drove to the 34, was sacked on back-to-back plays by Filimoeatu and Jeremiah Alford and the Rams gave the ball up on downs with 3:17 left in the quarter.

Lamaison then capped a 55-yard drive with a 22-yard pass to Michael Edwards (Glendora) for a 34-7 lead with 1:35 left in the quarter. Edwards, the offensive player of the game, finished with six receptions for 67 yards and the one touchdown.

“It was just a great team effort, from offense, to defense to special teams,” Filimoeatu said. “We worked real hard all season, we didn’t want to waste it.

“It was a great win for us, some of our sophomores who didn’t play last year. It was a great honor for us to go undefeated and get them this title.”

Steve Ramirez writes about public safety issues including criminal justice and fires in Inland Southern California. He previously covered high schools, college football and motor sports for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune since 1989. He's a big fan of Buddy Holly and loves World War II movies.

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